CANADA'S NUCLEAR REACTORS: HOW MUCH SAFETY IS ENOUGH?
Interim Report
Witnesses
NAME OF ORGANIZATION AND/OR WITNESS | ISSUE NUMBER |
DATE OF APPEARANCE |
Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) Cait Maloney,
Director, External Relations and Documents Division; |
4 |
February 24, 2000 |
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) David
Torgerson, Vice-President, Research and Product Development; |
3 |
February 22, 2000 |
Energy Probe Normand Rubin, Director of Nuclear Research, Senior Policy Analyst. |
5 |
February 29, 2000 |
International Institute of Concern for Public Health Dr. Rosalie Bertell, President |
22 |
September 21, 2000 |
Natural Resources Canada Ric Cameron, Assistant
Deputy Minister, Energy Sector; |
12 |
June 1st, 2000 |
Nuclear Awareness Project Irene Kock, Executive Director |
8 |
May 2nd, 2000 |
Nuclear Insurance Association of Canada Steve
Hammond, Chairman; |
10 |
May 11, 2000 |
Ontario Power Generation Ron Osborne, President and
Chief Executive Officer; |
24 |
October 19, 2000 |
Ontario Power Generation Carl Andognini, Special
Nuclear Advisor to the President; |
7 |
April 13, 2000 |
Power Workers' Union John Murphy, President; |
8 |
May 2nd, 2000 |
Regional Municipality of Durham, Health Department Robert
Kyle, Medical Officer of Health; |
11 |
May 30, 2000 |
Fact-finding mission to Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia (October 9 October 14, 2000)
Environmental Protection Agency | John Beale, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air
and Radiation, EPA; Patricia Koshel, Director, Western Hemisphere and Bilateral Affairs Office, EPA; |
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) | James T. Rhodes, President and Chief Executive President; Sig Birg, INPO Executive Vice-President; Ed Hux, Director, Plant Operations Division. |
Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Greta Joy Dicus, Acting Chairman; Jeffrey S. Merrifield, Commissioner; Edward McGaffigan, Commissioner. |
Union of Concerned Scientists | Dave Lochbaum, Nuclear Safety Engineer. |
World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) | William R. Kindley, Director; Jim Miller, Legal Counsel. |
- The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy.
- David Torgerson, Vice President, Research and Product Development, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 3, p. 3:8, 22 February 2000.
- OPG came into existence on 1 April 1999. Before that time Ontario Hydro operated the nuclear reactors in the province. The two names will be used interchangeably depending on the date of the information being referenced.
- Report of the Select Committee on Ontario Hydro Nuclear Affairs, December 1997
- Ontario Hydro, Report to Management, Independent Integrated Performance Appraisal(IIPA)/Safety System Functional Investigation (SSFI) Evaluation Findings and Recommendations, 21 July 1997 (hereafter cited as IIPA)
- "Meltdown", Macleans Magazine, Special Report, 25 August 1997, p.14
- The name of the AECB was changed to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on 30 May 2000. References will use the name in use at the time the documents being cited were prepared.
- "Nuclear Option is Dead", Ottawa Citizen, A1, 14 August 1997
- Report of the Select Committee on Ontario Hydro Nuclear Affairs, December 1997
- The Committee notes with interest that in December 2000, the Auditor General reviewed the regulatory activities of the CNSC related to licensing and regulating power reactors. He made a number of recommendations for improving practices of the CNSC in these areas. Details can be found in : Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons, Chapter 27, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Power Reactor Regulation, December 2000.
- "British Energy to Run Ontario Powers Bruce Plants", The Globe and Mail, B1, 12 July 2000
- "Bruce Power Applies for Operating Licences", Nuclear Canada, Volume 1, No. 11, 1 December 2000, p.1
- Jim Harvie, Director General, Reactor Regulation, Atomic Energy Control Board, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 4-, p.4:7, 24 February 2000
- Ibid, p.4:15
- Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, 1999 Annual Report, Atlanta, Georgia, p. 14
- To put this huge number into some context, if this total release were evenly diluted in the total volume of water in Lake Ontario (without suggesting that this is what would happen), it would add roughly 2 becquerels/litre of radiation. The Ontario Drinking Water Standard is currently 7000 becquerels/litre.
- Carl Andognini, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceeding and Evidence, Issue # 7, p. 7:6-7:7, 13 April 2000
- Ibid.
- IIPA (1997), p. 2
- IIPA (1997), p.6
- Andognini, p. 7:8
- Victor Snell, Director, Nuclear Safety and Licensing, Atomic Energy of Canada, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceeding and Evidence, Issue #3, p. 3:16, 22 February, 2000
- Andognini, p. 7:5
- Snell, p.3:13
- Thompson, p.7
- Ibid.
- Torgerson, p. 3:30
- Ibid.
- Pickering East Shore Community Association, at informal meeting with the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Pickering, 4 April 2000
- Dr. Gordon Thompson, an engineer and Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in applied mathematics, is the Executive Director of the IRSS. He has extensive experience in assessing the hazards associated with nuclear facilities and in identifying alternative designs and modes of operation that can reduce a facilitys hazard potential. Dr. Thompson has also worked on a range of other subjects related to energy, environment and international security.
- G. Thompson, A Review of the Accident Risk Posed by the Pickering A Nuclear Generating Station, A Report to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, August 2000
- Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Pickering A Return to Service: Environmental Assessment, October 1999, Issue 2, p.1
- OPG, Pickering A Return to Service: Environmental Assessment, Newsletter, Issue 3, November/December 1999, p. 3.
- Thompson, p..9
- J. Harvie, Director General, Reactor Regulation, Atomic Energy Control Board, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 4, p. 4:28, 24 February 2000
- Durham Nuclear Awareness, Comments to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on the Draft Screening Report on the Pickering A Nuclear Station Restart Proposal, 4 July 2000
- Atomic Energy Control Board, Board Management Decision 93-07, 5 January 1993, Appendix A
- Bob Strickert, Vice-President for Pickering A, meeting with OPG officials at Pickering plant site, 5 April 2000
- Harvie, p. 4:28
- Carl Andognini, Special Nuclear Advisor to the President, Ontario Power Generation, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 7, p. 7:24, 13 April 2000,
- Strickert, 5 April 2000
- Thompson, p. 11
- Kock, p.8:6
- Thompson (2000), p.28
- Peter Small, "Quake gives eastern GTA a gentle wake-up call", The Toronto Star, 5 May 25
- Tom Blackwell, " Toronto shakes, rattles in quake", The Edmonton Journal, 25 May 2000
- Atomic Energy Control Board, AECB workshop on Seismic Hazard Assessment in Southern Ontario Recorded Proceedings, Ottawa, Ontario, 19-21 June 1995, p.11
- Ibid., p. 71
- Arsalan Mohajer, Associate Professor of Geophysics, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences Division, University of Toronto, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 11, p. 11:20, 30 May 2000
- Ibid.
- Ibid., p. 11:21
- Ibid. p. 11:22
- Ontario Power Generation - Nuclear, Seismic Hazard and Seismic Design Issues at OPGI Nuclear Power Stations, July 2000
- Ibid. p. 14
- Ibid, p.16
- R.L. Brown, G.M. Atkinson and A. Dreimanis, Rouge River Expert Advisory Panel Summary Report, September, 2000, p.6
- Electric Power Research Institute, NP-6041, A Methodology for Assessment of Nuclear Power Plant Seismic Margin, October, 1988
- Thompson, p. 16
- Ibid.
- OPG - Nuclear, July 2000, p. 3
- Ibid., p. 4
- Kock, Informal meeting in Pickering, 4 April 2000
- Acres International, Seismic Assessment of Systems and Components at Pickering A, , Prepared for Atomic Energy Control Board, 11 January 1999
- Durham Nuclear Awareness (4 July 2000), p.13
- Thompson (2000), p.21
- Ibid. p. 18
- IIPA, p. 34
- Thompson, p.19
- Thompson p. 19
- Ibid., p.13
- Ibid. p.13
- Ibid. p.14
- C.B. Parsons (AECB), letter sent to R.J. Strickert (Ontario Hydro), transmitting undated document AECB Review of Pickering A Risk Assessment: Conclusions From the Review, (As cited in Thompson (2000), p.18)
- Thompson (2000), p.18
- Ibid, p. 32
- Ibid, p.27
- Ibid.
- Atomic Energy Control Board, Radiation and Health Effects, presented to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 24 February 2000.
- Ibid, p.3
- Atomic Energy Control Board, as cited in Ontario Power Generation, "Pilot Cancer Study", Neighbours News from Pickering Nuclear, Volume 6, Number 1, Winter 2000, p.4
- Dr. Philippe Duport, Director, International Centre for Low Dose Radiation Research, University of Ottawa, Letter to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 20 October 2000.
- Durham Region Health Department, Radiation and Health in Durham Region, November 1996, p. A-7
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Port Hope Cancer Incidence Study Released, Press Release, 22 August 2000
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, p. 11:15 - 16
- Kock, p. 8:7
- Dr. David Hoel, Affidavit in Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division Between Inverhuron and District Ratepayers Association (Applicant) and The Minister of the Environment, the AECB, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Ontario Power Generation (Respondents), File # T-906-99, 9 December 1999
- Ibid.
- Dr. Rosalie Bertell, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 22, p.22:5 - 6, 21 September 2000
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Norman Rubin, Senior Policy Analyst, Energy Probe, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 5, p. 5:12, 29 February 2000.
- IIPA (1997), p.5
- Ibid. p.11
- Ibid. p.10
- Bob Strickert, Senate Committee Visit to Pickering Nuclear: Nuclear Basics, Nuclear Safety and Performance Results, 5 April 2000
- Ibid.
- Ron Osborne, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Power Generation, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 24, p.24:7, 19 October 2000
- Ibid.
- John Murphy, Past President, Power Workers Union, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 8, p.8:19, 2 May 2000
- Don MacKinnon, President, Power Workers Union, letter to Clerk of Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 8 November 2000
- Don MacKinnon, President, Power Workers Union, letter to Clerk of Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 8 November 2000
- Ibid.
- Government of Canada, Canadian National Report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety, September 1998, p. 49
- R. Cameron, Assistant Deputy Minister, Natural Resources Canada, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 12, p.12:10, 1 June 2000
- Dermot Murphy, Manager, Nuclear Insurance Association of Canada, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, Issue # 10, p.10:7, 11 May 2000
- Cameron, p.12:7-8
- Ibid., p.12:8
- Jacques Henault, Natural Ressources Canada, Telephone conversation, 3 April 2001
- The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy.
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Staff Report to Commission Members on the Pickering NGS-A Environmental Assessment, Document 26-1-4-15-1, 5 September 2000
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Record of Proceedings, including Reasons for Decisions In the Matter of Environmental Assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act of the Proposed Return to Service of the Pickering A Nuclear Generating Station, 16 February 2001
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, News Release, CNSC Announces Decisions on Ontario Power Generations Pickering Facilities, 30 March 2001
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Comprehensive Study List Regulations Legal Text, at www.ceaa.gc.ca/0011/10004/sor94-638.txt
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Completed Comprehensive Studies, at www.ceaa.gc.ca/0009/0003/completed_e.htm
- Gene Preston, Vice-President-Nuclear, Ontario Power Generation, discussions during Pickering site visit, 5 April 2000.
- Dr. N. Eyles et al, Peer Review Team Comments on Pickering A Return to Service Environmental Assessment: Preliminary Draft Report, Prepared for Corporation of the City of Pickering, December 1999
- Kock, p.8:5
- Kurt Johansen, Senior Manager, Environmental Assessments, Ontario Power Generation, Committee Site Visit,5 April 2000
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (5 September 2000)
- Kock, p.8:6
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (5 September 2000)
- Kock, p.8:8
- Irene Kock, Nuclear Awareness Project, E-mail to Bernard Richard, AECB Program Management and Review Section, 25 February 2000
- Bernard Richard, AECB Program Management and Review Section, Letter to Irene Kock, Durham Nuclear Awareness, 13 March 2000
- Osborne, p. 24:3
- R. J. Strickert, Site Vice President, Pickering A Nuclear, Letter to Senator Mira Spivak, Chairman,Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 11 May 2000
- Osborne, p. 24:4
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (5 September 2000)
- Osborne, p. 24:20
- J.D. Harvie, Director General, Atomic Energy Control Board, Letter to Senator Mira Spivak, Chairman, Standing Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, 28 March 2000
- As cited in Irene Kock, Letter to Mayor Arthurs and Councillors, City of Pickering, 13 April 2000